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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Moving from Information Assurance to Functional Assurance with Engineered Controls

Cyber threats to operational technology demand more than traditional IT defenses—they require full-spectrum mission assurance. Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) is an approach that embeds engineered controls into system design to ensure critical functions remain safe and reliable, even under attack. Unlike conventional cybersecurity tools, engineered controls act directly on physical processes to prevent unacceptable outcomes such as equipment damage or mission failure. This session will outline the CIE framework and share examples of consequence-based design that deliver true resilience, not just fail-safe behaviors. Attendees will learn how to integrate these principles into the engineering lifecycle to support resilient-by-design architectures and inform emerging standards. This talk sets the stage for the panel discussion on advancing CIE across sectors as digital and physical systems converge.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

A phenomenological rate of injection model for predicting fuel injection with application to mixture formation in light-duty diesel engines

Fuel injection rate laws are one of the most important pieces of information needed when modeling engine combustion with computational fluid dynamics. In this study, a simple phenomenological model of a common-rail injector was developed and calibrated for the Bosch CRI2.2 platform. The model requires three tunable parameter fits, making it relatively easy to calibrate and suitable for injector modeling when high-fidelity information about the internal injector’s geometry and electrical circuit details are not available. Each injection pulse is modeled as a sequence of up to four stages: an injection needle mechanical opening transient, a full-lift viscous flow inertial transient, a Bernoulli steady-state stage, and a needle descent transient. Parameters for each stage are obtained as polynomial fits from measured injection rate properties. The model enforces total injected mass, and the intermediate stages are only introduced if the injection pulse duration is long enough. Experimental rates of injection from two separate campaigns on the same injector were used to calibrate the model. The model was first validated against measured injection rate laws featuring pilot injections, short partially premixed combustion pulses, and conventional diesel combustion injection strategies. Then, it was employed as an input to engine computational fluid dynamics simulations, which were run to simulate experiments of mixture formation in an optically accessible light-duty diesel engine. It was found that, though simple, this model is capable of predicting both pilot and main injection pulse mass flow rates well: the simulations yielded accurate predictions of in-cylinder equivalence ratio distributions from injection strategies for both partially premixed combustion and pilot injections. Also, once calibrated, the model produced appropriate results for a wide range of injected mass and rail pressure values. Finally, it was observed that usage of such a relatively simple model can be a good choice when high-fidelity injection rate input and highly detailed information of the injector’s geometry and operation are not available, particularly as noticeable discrepancies can be present also among different experimental campaigns on similar hardware.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Integrating Cyber-Informed Engineering into Process Automation

As organizations increasingly automate their core missions and essential functions to address business risks and enhance efficiency, process automation becomes pivotal. This shift, involving minimal or no manual intervention, significantly impacts an organization's cyber-risk landscape. While automation drives efficiencies, it also introduces new cyber risks if not properly managed. Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) provides a proactive framework for managing these digital risks, enhancing cyber-resilience in process automation. This document supports organizations in applying CIE principles to mitigate the cyber risks associated with automation. The outlined approach can be independently implemented to improve any organization’s cyber-resilience, ensuring that the advantages of automation do not result in unaddressed or unmanaged digital risks. It serves as a starting point, offering considerations for integrating CIE principles and practices into organizational processes. CIE is presented as an iterative process, fostering continuous improvement and reinforcing the engineering and operational cultures to manage digital risks effectively. The document is structured as follows: Section 1 provides background on CIE and process automation, and their integration. Section 2 explores the twelve CIE principles in the context of process automation, highlighting key questions, engineering considerations, and implications for digital risk management. Section 3 synthesizes the findings and offers recommendations to advance resilience by design.

42 - ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of molar expansion ratio of fuels on engine efficiency

Fuel properties have a strong impact on the efficiency of internal combustion engines. Contrary to other physical and thermochemical fuel properties, the molar expansion ratio is normally ignored. Molar expansion ratio is the ratio of number of moles of the products to the reactants. In this work, the impact of the fuel’s molar expansion ratio on engine efficiency is investigated. Findings are based on simulations of a spark ignition engine using different fuels (standard fuels and user-defined fuels) and different dilution ratios. Simulations without heat transfer and friction were performed first. The combustion then takes place at top dead center with a very short combustion duration to approach the ideal Otto cycle. The heat transfer and friction were then added step by step. From this analysis, it could be concluded that the heat loss and friction work decrease as molar expansion ratio increases. The gross indicated and brake thermal efficiencies thus increase. User-defined fuels with different molar expansion ratio, but the same physical and thermochemical properties were then employed. The simulated results showed that the brake thermal efficiency increases by around 1.15% with an increase in molar expansion ratio of 0.02 compared to a fuel with a molar expansion ratio of unity. Lastly, the simulation was also done with air and exhaust gas recirculation dilution.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Data for "Enhancing Lipid Production in Plant Cells through Automated High-Throughput Genome Engineering and Phenotyping"

Plant bioengineering is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process with no guarantee of achieving desired traits. Here, we present a fast, automated, scalable, high-throughput pipeline for plant bioengineering (FAST-PB) in maize (Zea mays) and Nicotiana benthamiana. FAST-PB enables genome editing and product characterization by integrating automated biofoundry engineering of callus and protoplast cells with single-cell matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). We first demonstrated that FAST-PB could streamline Golden Gate cloning, with the capacity to construct 96 vectors in parallel. Using FAST-PB in protoplasts, we found that PEG2050 increased transfection efficiency by over 45%. For proof-of-concept, we established a reporter-gene-free method for CRISPR editing and phenotyping via mutation of high chlorophyll fluorescence 136. We show that diverse lipids were enhanced up to 6-fold using CRISPR activation of lipid controlling genes. In callus cells, an automated transformation platform was employed to regenerate plants with enhanced lipid traits through introducing multigene cassettes. Lastly, FAST-PB enabled high-throughput single-cell lipid profiling by integrating MALDI-MS with the biofoundry, protoplast, and callus cells, differentiating engineered and unengineered cells using single-cell lipidomics. These innovations massively increase the throughput of synthetic biology, genome editing, and metabolic engineering and change what is possible using single-cell metabolomics in plants.

AI/ML↗
DOE OSTI2023

Engineering-In Cybersecurity

Cyber-Informed Engineering is a framework which allows engineers to build resiliency to the impacts of cyber attack into engineered systems starting in the early design phases. This article introduces the framework and provides a description of some of its principles and resources for learning more.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cyber-Informed Engineering Validation Methods and Guidance

Validation is an important step in any systems engineering process to ensure the correct system was made to fulfill stakeholders’ needs, goals, and expectations. In the context of Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE), validation ensures cyber impact is reduced through implemented design choices and CIE requirements. This document details a process in validating CIE-based design choices relative to their effectiveness at mitigating high consequence events. The document includes a case study to illustrate the CIE validation process. The case study explores the implementation of CIE validation within the engineering lifecycle of a chemical mixing plant.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Benefits Quantification: Recommendations for Consideration

Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) integrates engineering principles into the design, development, and operation of cyber-physical systems (CPS) to mitigate or eliminate the impact of cyber-enabled attacks. In July 2024, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) engaged MITRE researchers to investigate methods for systematically measuring the benefits of CIE implementation. This included evaluating the success and outcomes of CIE, identifying and quantifying the value of early adoption, and determining the business justification for its implementation, especially in existing infrastructure. MITRE reviewed existing methods in engineering and cybersecurity to understand how organizations prioritize security investments, considering their strengths, weaknesses, and relevance to CIE stakeholders. Based on this analysis, MITRE proposed potential approaches for quantifying CIE benefits and provided recommendations for INL's consideration.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bulk Spray and Individual Plume Characterization of LPG and Iso-Octane Sprays at Engine-Like Conditions

This study presents experimental and numerical examination of directly injected (DI) propane and iso-octane, surrogates for liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and gasoline, respectively, at various engine like conditions with the overall objective to establish the baseline with regards to fuel delivery required for future high efficiency DI-LPG fueled heavy-duty engines. Sprays for both iso-octane and propane were characterized and the results from the optical diagnostic techniques including high-speed Schlieren and planar Mie scattering imaging were applied to differentiate the liquid-phase regions and the bulk spray phenomenon from single plume behaviors. The experimental results, coupled with high-fidelity internal nozzle-flow simulations were then used to define best practices in CFD Lagrangian spray models. Optical imaging revealed that unlike iso-octane, propane’s spray propagation was fed by its flash boiling, spray collapse, and high degree of vaporization, resulting in a direct proportionality of propane’s penetration length to temperature. These unique features of propane and its variation from iso-octane’s spray pattern, contributed to its classification as an unconventional spray. Appropriate corrections to the injection and breakup models were developed to reproduce the under-expanded jet dynamics and to mimic the flash boiling-driven spray development observed with propane sprays. The simulation results were found to be sensitive to cone and inclusion angles of the blob injector. The current work represents a first assessment of the capability of the commonly available models for engine-spray simulations and highlights the fact that, despite the reasonable agreement obtained in the fuel vapor morphology, the representation of the liquid phase lacks accuracy and requires further model development.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cyber-Informed Engineering for Nuclear Reactor Digital Instrumentation and Control

As nuclear reactors transition from analog to digital technology, the benefits of enhanced operational capabilities and improved efficiencies are potentially offset by cyber risks. Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) is an approach that can be used by engineers and staff to characterize and reduce new cyber risks in digital instrumentation and control systems. CIE provides guidance that can be applied throughout the entire systems engineering lifecycle, from conceptual design to decommissioning. In addition to outlining the use of CIE in nuclear reactor applications, this chapter provides a brief primer on nuclear reactor instrumentation and control and the associated cyber risks in existing light water reactors as well as the digital technology that will likely be used in future reactor designs and applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cyber Informed Engineering (CIE) Curriculum Guide

The Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Curriculum Guide provides a framework, guidance, and resources for incorporating CIE into university-level engineering programs and related educational activities. A key goal of this guide is to help institutions deliver CIE focused education to produce future engineers and technicians who meet the nation’s infrastructure needs. To accommodate a broad range of educational goals and approaches, this guide outlines several practical integration strategies, links to resources that can accelerate CIE adoption, and offers perspectives from partner academic institutions on the various implementation strategies.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Single‐Step Recovery of Water from Stable Crude Oil‐Water Emulsion Using Surface Engineered Hybrid Inorganic‐Polymer Membranes

ABSTRACT Separating crude oil from water remains one of the most stubborn challenges in environmental remediation, especially for surfactant‐stabilized emulsions that resist conventional demulsification methods. Here, we report a scalable strategy for achieving near‐zero‐discharge separation of crude oil emulsions using a single superhydrophilic membrane. By applying low‐temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) of various metal oxides onto activated polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes, we create atomically precise surface‐engineered (SE) membranes that maintain an exceptionally strong hydration layer at the membrane‐feed interface, even at high oil loadings. Among the various metal oxides, TiO 2 ‐modified SE membranes exhibit superior interfacial water stability, enabling sustained dewatering of complex crude oil‐water emulsions with >98% separation efficiency and >97% water recovery, compared to only 24.6% water recovery for the pristine membrane. This separation performance surpasses conventional hydrophilic membranes and is comparable to complex Janus channel membrane systems, demonstrating near‐complete emulsion separation using a single membrane. This low‐temperature membrane surface engineering process with atomic‐level precision and potential for scalability via roll‐to‐roll fabrication is promising for industrial‐scale, energy‐efficient water treatment and oil spill remediation applications.

Sengupta, Bratin [Applied Materials Division Argon↗
DOE OSTI2021

Regulation of Cathode Mass and Charge Transfer by Structural 3D Engineering for Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cell at 400 °C

Abstract Lowering the operating temperature (ideally below 400 °C) for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology deployment has been an important transition that introduces the benefit of reduced operational costs and system durability. However, the key technical issue limiting the transition is the sluggish cathodic performance, namely the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) rate of the conventional sponge‐like cathode dramatically drops as the temperature reduces. In this paper, 3D engineering of a cathode is conducted on a protonic ceramic fuel cell to obtain an enhanced ORR between 400 and 600 °C. Compared with a cell using a conventional sponge‐like cathode, 3D engineering improves the cathode ORR by 41% at 400 °C with a peak power density of 0.410 W cm −2 . A phase field simulation is applied to assist the engineering by understanding the competition between the cathode mass and charge transfer with different cathode porosities. The results show that structural engineering of existing well‐developed cathodes is a simple and effective method to promote cathode ORR for low temperature SOFC by regulating the mass and charge transfer.

Bian, Wenjuan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Permeability-Engineered Compartmentalization Enables In Vitro Reconstitution of Sustained Synthetic Biology Systems

In nature, biological compartments such as cells rely on dynamically controlled permeability for matter exchange and complex cellular activities. Likewise, the ability to engineer compartment permeability is crucial for in vitro systems to gain sustainability, robustness, and complexity. However, rendering in vitro compartments such a capability is challenging. Here, a facile strategy is presented to build permeability-configurable compartments, and marked advantages of such compartmentalization are shown in reconstituting sustained synthetic biology systems in vitro. Through microfluidics, the strategy produces micrometer-sized layered microgels whose shell layer serves as a sieving structure for biomolecules and particles. In this configuration, the transport of DNAs, proteins, and bacteriophages across the compartments can be controlled an guided by a physical model. Through permeability engineering, a compartmentalized cell-free protein synthesis system sustains multicycle protein production; ≈100 000 compartments are repeatedly used in a five-cycle synthesis, featuring a yield of 2.2 mg mL -1 . Further, the engineered bacteria-enclosing compartments possess near-perfect phage resistance and enhanced environmental fitness. In a complex river silt environment, compartmentalized whole-cell biosensors show maintained activity throughout the 32 h pollutant monitoring. It is anticipated that permeability-engineered compartmentalization should pave the way for practical synthetic biology applications such as green bioproduction, environmental sensing, and bacteria-based therapeutics.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Engineering a Non‐Natural Photoenzyme for Improved Photon Efficiency**

Abstract Photoenzymes are biological catalysts that use light to convert starting materials into products. These catalysts require photon absorption for each turnover, making quantum efficiency an important optimization parameter. Flavin‐dependent “ene”‐reductases (EREDs) display latent photoenzymatic activity for synthetically valuable hydroalkylations; however, protein engineering has not been used to optimize this non‐natural function. We describe a protein engineering platform for the high throughput optimization of photoenzymes. A single round of engineering results in improved catalytic function toward the synthesis of γ, δ, ϵ‐lactams, and acyclic amides. Mechanistic studies show that key mutations can alter the enzyme's excited state dynamics, enhance its photon efficiency, and ultimately increase catalyst performance. Transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that engineered variants display dramatically decreased radical lifetimes, indicating an evolution toward a concerted mechanism.

Nicholls, Bryce T.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Engineering Clostridium cellulovorans for highly selective n ‐butanol production from cellulose in consolidated bioprocessing

Abstract Cellulosic n ‐butanol from renewable lignocellulosic biomass has gained increased interest. Previously, we have engineered Clostridium cellulovorans , a cellulolytic acidogen, to overexpress the bifunctional butyraldehyde/butanol dehydrogenase gene adh E2 from C. acetobutylicum for n ‐butanol production from crystalline cellulose. However, butanol production by this engineered strain had a relatively low yield of approximately 0.22 g/g cellulose due to the coproduction of ethanol and acids. We hypothesized that strengthening the carbon flux through the central butyryl‐CoA biosynthesis pathway and increasing intracellular NADH availability in C. cellulovorans adh E2 would enhance n ‐butanol production. In this study, thiolase ( thl A CA ) from C. acetobutylicum and 3‐hydroxybutyryl‐CoA dehydrogenase ( hbd CT ) from C. tyrobutyricum were overexpressed in C. cellulovorans adh E2 to increase the flux from acetyl‐CoA to butyryl‐CoA. In addition, ferredoxin‐NAD(P) + oxidoreductase ( fnr ), which can regenerate the intracellular NAD(P)H and thus increase butanol biosynthesis, was also overexpressed. Metabolic flux analyses showed that mutants overexpressing these genes had a significantly increased carbon flux toward butyryl‐CoA, which resulted in increased production of butyrate and butanol. The addition of methyl viologen as an electron carrier in batch fermentation further directed more carbon flux towards n ‐butanol biosynthesis due to increased reducing equivalent or NADH. The engineered strain C. cellulovorans adh E2‐ fnr CA ‐ thl A CA ‐ hbd CT produced n ‐butanol from cellulose at a 50% higher yield (0.34 g/g), the highest ever obtained in batch fermentation by any known bacterial strain. The engineered C. cellulovorans is thus a promising host for n ‐butanol production from cellulosic biomass in consolidated bioprocessing.

Bao, Teng↗
DOE OSTI2021

Engineered Sorghum Bagasse Enables a Sustainable Biorefinery with p-Hydroxybenzoic Acid-Based Deep Eutectic Solvent

Integrating multidisciplinary research in plant genetic engineering and renewable deep eutectic solvents (DESs) can facilitate a sustainable and economic biorefinery. In this work, we leveraged a plant genetic engineering approach to specifically incorporate C6C1 monomers into the lignin structure. By expressing the bacterial ubiC gene in sorghum, p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PB)-rich lignin was incorporated into the plant cell wall while this monomer was completely absent in the lignin of the wild-type (WT) biomass. A DES was synthesized with choline chloride (ChCl) and PB and applied to the pretreatment of the PB-rich mutant biomass for a sustainable biorefinery. The release of fermentable sugars was significantly enhanced (~190 % increase) compared to untreated biomass by the DES pretreatment. In particular, the glucose released from the pretreated mutant biomass was up to 12 % higher than that from the pretreated WT biomass. Lignin was effectively removed from the biomass with the preservation of more than half of the β-Ο-4 linkages without condensed aromatic structures. Hydrogenolysis of the fractionated lignin was conducted to demonstrate the potential of phenolic compound production. In addition, a simple hydrothermal treatment could selectively extract PB from the same engineered lignin, showing a possible circular biorefinery. These results suggest that the combination of PB-based DES and engineered PB-rich biomass is a promising strategy to achieve a sustainable closed-loop biorefinery.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mono-/Bimetallic Doped and Heterostructure Engineering for Electrochemical Energy Applications

Designing efficient materials is crucial to meeting specific requirements in various electrochemical energy applications. Mono-/bimetallic doped and heterostructure engineering have attracted considerable research interest due to their unique functionalities and potential for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. However, addressing material imperfections such as low conductivity and poor active sites requires a strategic approach to design. This review explores the latest advancements in materials modified by mono-/bimetallic doped and heterojunction strategies for electrochemical energy applications. It can be subdivided into three key points: (i) the regulatory mechanisms of metal doping and heterostructure engineering for materials; (ii) the preparation methods of materials with various engineering strategies; and (iii) the synergistic effects of two engineering approaches, further highlighting their applications in supercapacitors, alkaline ion batteries, and electrocatalysis. Finally, the review concludes with perspectives and recommendations for further research to advance these technologies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗